Alarm clock control mechanism



July 26, 1960 R. L. BOYLES mL 2,946,182

ALARM CLOCK CONTROL. MECHANISM Filed March 25. 1957 United States Patent O ALARM CLOCK CQNTRDL MECHANISM Robert L. Boyles, Wayland, and William C. Wingler,

Northboro, Mass., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 648,038

Claims. (Cle Sil-21.12)

This invention relates to an alarm clock control mechanism, and more particularly, to a temporary shut-off mechanism for an alarm clock of the general type described in U.S. Letters Patent No. 2,702,450 to Gummersall.

In alarm clocks it has been common practice to provide a pair of coaxially mounted gear driven cam members having cam surfaces thereon interacting with each other andV with one of these members being axially movable to actuate an alarm means. One of the cam members is driven by a timing device, and the other is adjustable so that the position at which the actual' actuating movement occurs can be preset. Gummersall Patent 2,702,450 discloses the use of a mechanism for temporarily shutting oi such an alarm means comprising a normally inoperative member for moving the abovementioned axially movable cam gear away from its alarm actuating position. This member is driven back to its inoperative position by the timing device to permit the alarm to resound after a short time interval. With such a mechanism, when the alarm sounds, a person awakened may actuate the temporary shut-oil mechanism and return to sleep for a short period of time without fear of oversleeping, since the alarm Will sound again after a short time interval. Our invention is concerned With such a temporary shut-off mechanism.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved reliable mechanism for temporarily shutting off an alarm.

It is another object of this invention to provide a simple lowcost temporary alarm shut-olf device which may be easily and conveniently operated even in a dark room.

ln accordance with one aspect of this invention, an actuating lever is pivoted to an alarm clock supporting structure. Spring means is provided for urging the lever to one position, and manually operable plunger means is provided for moving the lever to a second position. A pivoted member is positioned adjacent to the lever for actuation thereby. This pivoted member is frictionally engageable with an axially movable alarm actuating cam member and moves the cam member in a direction to shut oil the alarm when the lever is moved to its second position by the plunger. With this arrangement, an improved reliable mechanism for temporarily shutting off an alarm is provided.

Other objects and attendant advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawing in which:

Fig. l is an exploded perspective view of an alarm clock provided with the improved temporary alarm shutoff mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved alarm shut-off mechanism with the alarm set to be automatically sounded at a preset time;

Fig; 3 is a partial side elevational view of the improved alarm shut-o mechanism showing the mechanism in alarm sounding position;

Fig. 4 is a partial side elevational view of the-improved ice alarm shut-olf mechanism showing actuation of the ternporary shut-ott" mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the improved alarm shut-oh? mechanism showing the alarm shut oil by a conventional alarm shut-oft device.

Referring now to the drawings, and first particularly to Fig. l, the alarm clock in which the improved control device may be used may be driven by a timing mechanism including a self-starting synchronous motor. Portions of the motor stator magnet core and energizing coil are shown at 1 and 2, respectively. A resilient magnetic vibrator 3 operated by leakage liux from the motor is arranged to have its free end portion 4 vibrate against a stator nut 5 and produce an audible alarm at all times when the motor is energized, unless the vibrator is prevented from vibrating by one of the alarm control parts to be described.

A supportingstructure including a base plate 6 and a front plate 7 spaced from plate 6 and arranged generally parallel thereto is provided for supporting the clock mechanism. A cam gear member 8, having a projecting cam portion 9 located thereon, is rotatably mounted on the supporting structure of the clock framework. The cam portion 9 comprises an abrupt axially extending surface 10 located on one side thereof and a sloping surface 11 located on the other. A second cam gear member 12 having abrupt cam surfaces formed by a slot 13 is also rotatably mounted on the clock supporting structure as shown in the drawings, and is axially movable to actuate the alarm mechanism in a manner hereinafter described. The angular position or" cam gear member 8 is manually adjustable by means of gearing in a manner Well known in the art. ln the embodiment shown, cam member 12 is driven by the timing mechanism of the clock through a suitable gearing arrangement.

The alarm mechanism is provided with a suitable permanent shut-ofi device such as a lever 14, having a projection 15 thereon which is positioned so as to engage vibrator arm 3 and restrain vibrator movement thereof when the lever is moved to the off position shown in Fig. 5. The shut-oil lever 14 is shown in the on position in Fig. 3, that is, with the projection 15 out of engagement with the vibrator arm 3 to permit free end portion 4 to vibrate against stator nut 5.

The resilient vibrator arm 3 may be utilized to spring load the axially movable cam gear 12 into engagement with the cam gear S through a suitable lever mechanism such as bell crank 16 which is pivoted to base plate 6 by means of ears 17 and pivot pin 18 all shown in Fig. 3. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, bell crank 16 transmits the spring force of vibrator arm 3 to the end of a shaft 19 which is attached to cam member 12. Accordingly, when the timing mechanism of the clock drives cam 12 to a position where the abrupt cam surface 10 becomes aligned with the abrupt surface formed by the slot 13, the vibrator arm 3 acting through the bell crank 16y rapidly forces the cam member 12 toward the cam membei' 8 to the position shown in Fig. 3. In this position the vibrator arm 3 is unrestrained and is free to vibrate under the influence of the continuously applied electromagnetic forces to give an audible alarm signal. It can be seen that if the shut-off lever 14 were to be moved to the left to the off position sholwn in Fig. 5, the projecting portion l5 will be brought into engagement with the vibrator arm 3, forcing it out of engagement with the bell crank lever lo, thereby restraining further vibratory movement of the vibrator arm 3 and also removing the spring force from the projecting shaft 19 of cam member 12.

Our improved mechanism for temporarily shutting off the alarm for a short time interval will now be more particularly described. As shown in Fig. l, this arrange- 3 ment includes a uniquely designed temporary shut-oit member having a laterally extending arm 21 formed -thereon which is positioned for engagement with a side surface of cam gear 12 for sliding cam gear 12 rearwardly to temporarily interrupt actuation of the alarm. Member 20 is pivoted to frontplate 7 by means of ears 22 which receive a pivot pin 23. A forward edge 24 of member 20 co-operates with the rear surface of front plate 7 to limit downward movement of shut-o member 20. When member 20 is placed in its extreme downward position shown in Fig. 4, it can be seen that arm 21 will force cam gear 12 and shaft 19 rearwardly and bell crank 16 upwardly thereby restraining further vibratory movement 'of arm 3. Simultaneously, gear 12, which is rotatable by the timing mechanism in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, will commence to move shut-off member 26 upwardly. Y

Sufficient frictional engagement is provided between arm 21 and the side surface of gear 12 to cause the timing mechanism to move gear 12 iand member 20 in unison for a reliable predetermined short time interval, of tive or ten minutes, for example. lf desired, a resinous material may be applied to the inter-engaging surfaces of arm 21 and gear 12 or serrations may be formed on these two inter-engaging surfaces in order to obtain the proper amount of friction between the side surface of gear 12 and arm 21. At the end of such a short time interval, arm 21 slips on the side surface of gear 12 and quickly assumes the position shown in Fig. 3 to permit the alarm to resound. The lever arm of member 20 from pivot pin 23 to the edge of arm 21is long enough so that a reliable predetermined time interval of silence is achieved from the time the forward edge 24 of member 20 is placed in engagement with the rear surface of plate 7 to the time arm 21 slips on the side surface of cam gear 12 to the position shown in Fig. 3; the longer the lever arm, the greater the predetermined interval of silence. During this interval of silence, member 2i) may move from the substantially horizontal position shown in Fig. 4 upwardly approximately 25 from this horizontal position, at which time arm 21 commences to slip with respect to gear 12, and spring vibrator 3 acting through bell crank 16 and shaft 19 swiftly moves gear 12 and member 2l) to the position shown in Fig. 3. Thus, a simple reliable pivoted member 26 is provided for temporarily shutting olf an alarm.

An actuating mechanism which may be easily and conveniently operated is provided for moving member 20 to the temporary alarm shut-oft position shown in Fig. 4. As shown in Fig.V l, this mechanism includes a lever 25 which may. be formed from a single piece of flat sheet material. -One end of lever 25 is pivoted to a stud shaft 26 which is'iXed to base plate 6 and a downwardly extending arm 27 is provided on the other end of lever 25 for actuating temporary alarm shut-oi member 20; An intermediate portion 2S of lever 25 may be curved so that the lever will not abut shaft 19 when it is moved downwardly. Lever 25 is provided with a rearwardly extending slotted tab 29 for co-operation with plunger means including a generally cylindrical plunger rod 30. In order to connect plunger rod 30 to lever 25, an annular groove may be provided in rod 30 for receiving the side edges of the slot formed in tab 29.

A compression spring 31 is provided for urging lever 25 upwardly tio one position. One end of the compression spring 31 may rest against a tab 32 which may be forwardly bent from base plate 6 and the other end of the spring may rest against lever tab 29. Tab 32 and an additional tab 33 which may also be forwardly bent from base plate 6 may both be provided with circular holes for receiving Vand guiding plunger rod 311 for reciprocating vertical motion.

.As shown in Fig. 2, the improved alarm clock may be enclosed in a suitable housing 34 having a top portion 35. A slot 36 may be formed in the top portion 3.5 of

the housing for permitting the manually operable plunger means to extend through the top portion of the housing. The plunger means may include a generally rectangular cap 37 which is guided in slot 36. Cap member 37 is provided with a suitable recess in the lower end thereof for receiving the nppertend kof plunger rod 3l?. With this arrangement, it will be appreciated that the alarm may be temporarily shut `oi by simply pushing'downwardly on cap 37 against the compression of spring 32. This moves lever 25 downwardly so that end 27 engages the end of member 2th to move member 20 to the position shown in Fig. 4, thereby shutting off the alarm. Spring e 31 returns lever 25, plunger rod 30 and cap 37 upwardly to the position shown` inrFig. 1 It can be seen that this unique arrangement of parts permits the temporary shutoff actuating cap 37 to be positioned at the top portion of the clock housing away from the other clock controls which conventionally extend through the rear housing of a clock. Thus, even in a dark room the alarm may be easily temporarily shut oft by merely pushing downwardly on the readily accessible cap 37.

Operation For operation of the alarm, the manual shut-off lever 14 is pulled outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2, thus allowing the end portion 4 of vibrator arm 3 to drop onto bell crank lever 16. In this position, bell crank f lever 16 holds vibrator arm 3 up and away from field i" pushed inwardly so that Aprojection 15 thereon contacts end portion 4 of the vibrator arm 3 to thereby permanently' restrain further motion of vibratorarm 3 or the buzzing may be temporarily shut oi by actuation of the improved alarm conrtol mechanism. Y

As shown in Fig. 4, the improved temporary alarm shut-off mechanism may be actuated by simply moving cap 37 downwardly from the dotted line position to the solid line position. This lowers the left-hand end of lever 25 which in turn pushes shut-oilE member 20 into its'lower position at right angles to front plate 7. As member 20 moves downward, arm 21 engages gear 12 pushing it and the shaft 19 rearwardly. This raises bell crank lever 16 against the tension of spring 3 to shut olf the alarm. Coil spring 31 returns lever 25, plunger shaft 30 and cap 37 to the up position shown in Fig. l. The timing mechanism rotates gear 12 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. l, and friction between cam gear 12 and arm 21 of member 20 causes these members to move in unison. Member 20 moves slowly upward until it reaches a point where arm 21 slips on the side surface of gear 12 under the force of spring 3. Then spring 3 quickly forces gear 12 to the position shown in Fig. 3 and simultaneously bell crank lever 16 is moved downward to permit the alarm vibrator to resound. This operation can be repeated to obtain another short interval snooze or the alarm may be permanently shut oit by moving lever 14 inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 5.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled inthe art that various other changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention, and therefore, it is aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modijications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1,. A temporary .alarm shut-off mechanism comprising:

an alarm; a timing mechanism; a stationary supporting structure; a cam member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure, said cam member being axially slidable in one direction to release the alarm at a preselected time and axially slidable in an opposite direction to shut 0E the alarm; an actuating lever pivoted to said supporting structure; manually operable plunger means connected to said lever for moving said lever to one position; a loosely pivoted member positioned for actuation by said lever, said pivoted member being frictionally engageable with said cam member to slide said cam member in said opposite direction to shut oir the alarm when said lever is moved to said one position, said cam member being rotatably driven as a function of time by said timing mechanism for moving said pivoted member to permit said cam member to slide in said one direction to release the alarm after the lapse of a sholt time interval; and spring means urging said lever to a second position away from said pivoted member for relieving the force of said lever on said pivoted member to permit said cam member to move said pivoted member.

2. An alarm shut-ofi mechanism comprising: an alarm; a timing mechanism; a stationary supporting structure; a housing having a top portion; a cam gear member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure, said cam gear member being axially slidable in one direction to release the alarm at a preselected time and axially slidable in an opposite direction to shut oi the alarm; a lever positioned within said housing pivoted to said supporting structure; manually operable plunger means connected to said lever for moving said lever to one position, said manually operable plunger means extendinng through the top portion of said housing; a loosely pivoted member positioned for actuation by said lever, said pivoted member being frictionally engageable with said cam gear member to slide said cam gear member in said opposite direction when said lever is moved to said one position, said cam member being rotatably driven as a function of time by said timing mechanism for moving said pivoted member to permit said cam member to slide in said one direction to release the alarm after the lapse of a short time interval; and spring means urging said lever to a second position away from said pivoted member for completely relieving the force of said lever on said pivoted member to permit said cam member to move said pivoted member.

3. In an alarm clock comprising: an alarm; a timing mechanism; a supporting structure; a first cam gear member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure; a second cam gear member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure in coaxial relationship with said tirst cam gear member and axially movable with respect thereto, said second cam gear member being axially slidable in one direction to release the alarm at a preselected time and axially slidable in an opposite direction to shut ofi the alarm; the improvement comprising a lever pivoted to said supporting structure; manually operable plunger means connected to said lever for moving said lever to one position; a loosely pivoted member positioned for actuation by said lever, said pivoted member being frictionally engageable with said second cam gear member to slide said second cam gear member in said opposite direction to shut off the alarm when said lever is moved to said one position, said second cam member being rotatably driven as a function of time by said timing mechanism for moving said pivoted member to permit said second cam member to slide in said one direction to release the alarm after the lapse of a short time interval; and spring means urging said lever to a second position away from said pivoted member for relieving the force of said lever on said pivoted member to permit said cam to move said pivoted member. i

4. Alarm means comprising: a timing mechanism; a stationary supporting structure; a first cam member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure; a second cam member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure in coaxial relationship with said first cam member and axially movable with respect thereto, an alarm mechanism having a resilient vibrator arm for causing an audible sound upon vibration thereof, said second cam member being disposed to move axially in one direction under the influence of said vibrator arm to permit vibration of said vibrator arm and axially slidable in an opposite direction against the inilucnce of said vibrator arm to stop vibration of said vibrato-r arm; an actuator lever pivoted to said supporting structure; manually operable plunger means connected to said lever for moving said lever to one position; a loosely pivoted member positioned for actuation by said lever, said pivoted member being fiictionally engageable with said second cam member to siide said second cam member in said opposite direction in opposition to said vibrator arm to stop vibration of said vibrator arm when said lever is moved to said one position, said second cam member being rotatably driven as a function of time by said timing mechanism for moving said pivoted member to permit said cam member to slide in said one direction to release the alarm after the lapse of a short time interval; and spring means urging said lever to a second position away from said pivoted member for relieving the force of said lever on said pivoted member to permit said cam member to move said pivoted member.

5. Alarm means comprising: a timing mechanism; a stationary supporting structure; a iirst cam member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure; a second cam member rotatably mounted on said supporting structure in coaxial relationship with said first cam member and axially movable with respect thereto, an alarm mechanism having a resilient vibrator arm for causing an audible sound upon vibration thereof, said second cam member being disposed to move axially in one direction under the inuence of said vibrator arm to permit vibration of said vibrator arm `and axially slidable in an opposite direction against the influence of said vibrator arm to stop vibration of said vibrator arm; a manually operable permanent shut-off lever, said permanent shut-off lever having a portion thereon engaging said vibrator arm when said permanent shut-ofi? lever is moved to one position; an actuator lever pivoted to said supporting structure; manually operable plunger means connected to said actuator lever for moving said actuator lever to one position; a loosely pivoted member positioned for actuation by said actuator lever, said pivoted member being frictionally engageable with said second cam member to slide said second cam member in said opposite direction in opposition fto the spring force of said vibrator arm to stop vibration of said vibrator arm when said lever is moved to said one position, said second cam member being rotatably driven as a function of time by said timing mechanism for moving said pivoted member to permit said cam member to slide in said one direction to release the alarm after the lapse of -a shont time interval; and spring means urging said lever to a second position away from said pivoted member for completely relieving the force of said lever on said pivoted member to permit said cam member to move said pivoted member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,088,381 Treganza Feb. 24, 1914 2,026,070 Sholden Dec. 31, 1935 2,583,794 Parks Ian. 29, 1952 2,702,450 Gummersall Feb. 22, 1955 

